Paycircle now captures the full structure of your NOW pension scheme - every Pay Code and Scheme Code combination - and sends it accurately to NOW via PensionSync. This update also brings reliability improvements to syncs and submissions across all pension providers.
NOW pension scheme structure in Paycircle
Paycircle supports both Pay Codes and Scheme Codes when creating pension groups. Each unique combination is represented separately, allowing schemes with multiple tiers or plans to maintain their full structure and plan-level detail.
A scheme with 2 pay codes and 12 plans per pay code now shows all 24 groups, rather than collapsing to 2.
Each group carries its own Scheme Code, contribution percentages, earnings basis, tax relief, and salary sacrifice settings.
Where a pay code has more than one scheme code, the group name shows both — for example, "Monthly (Tier 102)". Where there is only a single scheme code, the name stays simple — for example, "Monthly".
Scheme Code is now sent to NOW via PensionSync
The pension submission file now includes the Scheme Code for each group. This means NOW receives the correct, detailed breakdown for each submission.
Existing setups update automatically
📌Note: Only NOW pension schemes are affected by this change. Other providers behave exactly as before.
The next sync fills in the new detail automatically. Groups keep their identity across syncs, so members stay attached to the right group; nothing is duplicated, lost, or scrambled. Existing setups don't need to be rebuilt.
What you need to do
If you currently have a NOW pension scheme with multiple plans set up in Paycircle, we recommend updating your existing group names to the new format before turning on the connection. Group names should follow the format: core group name followed by the plan name in brackets, for example, "Monthly (Tier 102)".
This ensures no groups are deleted and re-added when the automation is turned on.
What's staying the same
Your contribution figures don't change. Employer, employee, and salary sacrifice contributions, tax relief, and percentages all continue to work exactly as they do today.
Who goes in which group is still your decision. Paycircle sets up the correct groups from the scheme data; assigning members to the right group remains a payroll admin task.
Other providers are unaffected. L&G, Aviva, and all other pension providers behave exactly as before.
Reliability improvements
Because NOW pension schemes can now exchange more detail with PensionSync, syncs and submissions send more data. To keep this running smoothly, the following improvements have been made:
Syncs have been given more time to complete, so a slow-but-successful response from the provider is processed rather than abandoned — removing an occasional "task was cancelled" error.
The same reliability improvement has been applied across all pension providers (NOW, L&G/PensionSync, People's Pension, Smart Pension, and Nest) so behaviour stays consistent.
The timing of scheduled syncs and submissions has been smoothed out so the workload is spread evenly rather than sent in bursts.